Certified Fresh? 0

[Flambit]

Certified Fresh?

There is one aspect of this hobby that have never been able to get my head around.  

Does it really devalue your art if you reveal it to the world (in a caf gallery, etc)?  

I know there's a fear of theft, which I understand.  If you have the Action 1 or AF 15 cover, you might want to keep that under wraps.  

But there's the "fresh" aspect that confuses me.

I've read threads about Black Hole collectors, but they doesn't really go into detail about the "freshness" thing. 

If someone has the cover to, say, Daredevil 158, and it surfaces first in a caf gallery and then goes to Heritage a year later, I doubt it would have much effect on it's value.  It's not AF 15, but it's a piece that most of us would sit up and take notice of, even though it isn't fresh, per se. 

But if you had a lesser Byrne piece - let's say a second tier piece like a WCA, She Hulk, or Action/Superman cover, basically a cover that isn't prime 70's Byrne, but still could command a decent 4 figure price (let's say it's not Coollines selling it) - does THAT get hurt by showing up on caf and then moving to an auction site soon after?  

(Or a comparable piece - a Bolland, etc,  whatever your personal cup of tea in that range is...)

I'm genuinely curious - it seems like there is so much cool art that still exists, yet, it just ain't out there (on caf, for example).  Is it because collectors are hiding it for future sales?  

 

[ESeffinga]

I think the whole "fresh" to market thing has a wee bit of merit, but is overrated. People want what they want, period.

When a cover or page from a book people didn't think still existed or hasn't ever been seen in the market before turns up, it turns heads. I think the mindset is the potential buyers want to snatch it up for themselves, or risk it disappearing again. Possibly an irrational response, but I think it exists. And then there's that whole exclusivity thing too. Buying OA means you have the only one. Buying OA that just popped up, or you dug up makes it even more "exclusive" by turning heads. And by extension, the owner feels a bigger charge being the owner of it.

That said, I DO think it hurts pieces when they are flogged over and over again. Some pieces seem to get in a cycle of being turned over repeatedly, from one collector to another. Time and time again. I think that can hurt resale, but it depends on what the piece is, and over the timespan that the turnarounds are happening. Every 5 or 10 years is a lot different than pieces that seem to move homes every 6 months or once a year.

I think pieces that seem to constantly be up for sale, either through people buying and moving them regularly or because one person just constantly has the piece up for sale with too high a tag on it... those are not "fresh" clearly. Those are the pieces that gain a kind of stigma, and they seem to sit until a new collector who is unaware of them sitting around buys it up for whatever is being asked for it.

And pieces not being on CAF often have zero to do with keeping a piece "fresh". I have several friends who don't have CAF galleries simply because the pieces are theirs and they feel and see no need to post them to a website so other people can look at them. That simple. I suspect that's the case with the vast majority of pieces that aren't on CAF. Simple as that.

I had to be talked into starting a CAF gallery by a friend who had one. For 4 or 5 years I just wasn't interested at all in the whole sharing thing. It wasn't until I realized the knock on effect was increased ability to network and find likeminded folks who opened other doors for me, that it's true benefits (to me) really came clear.

 

-e.

Edited April 6, 2017 by ESeffinga

[NelsonAI]

Eric pretty much summed it up.

There are "fresh" new to the market pages from Sad Sack priced at $10.  I don't think being fresh to the market helped increase it's market value.  It still comes down to demand for the product and the price.

Cheers!

N.

[Panelfan1]

For some it could, but speaking for me personally - It makes zero difference. In fact, if i know someone has a piece on CAF and then that piece comes up for auction I might be even more interested as its been something front and center for me.  There are literally hundreds of thousands of pages in existence, but they are not all on CAF to be seen.  So many are out of sight and out of mind.  That makes those we know about a bit more special.   Sometimes seeing pieces, makes them more desireable.

[JadeGiant]

I was very curious about this once upon a time and I have spoken with several collectors over the years that actually subscribe to the fresh theory. I have a lot of art not on CAF but not due to a goal of freshness. 

[BCarter27]

I wish it didn't but it seems to have an effect on me and I think it has an effect on the majority of bidders/buyers. Anything that generates buzz or excitement around a sale will give it an edge.

[The Voord]

Fresh today, stale tomorrow . . .

[mister_not_so_nice]

1 hour ago, The Voord said:

Fresh today, stale tomorrow . . .

Grail today, Sale tomorrow 

[Sriz]

2 hours ago, mister_not_so_nice said:

Grail today, Sale tomorrow 

 

[Sriz]

Ive thought about this for quite some time as well.  Initially I didn't post any of my stuff on CAF but when trying to reach out regarding certain pieces guys had I would get limited responses (with ppl wondering if I had any collection at all).   At the advice of a good friend, I started posting my art on CAF and Ive noticed some ppl are more receptive to my enquiries.  Ive even made some acquaintances as well so that's a plus.   

I guess it all depends on what your goals are.  If you're collecting simply for collecting with general interest, one can post what he has for sharing it with the community.   However if someone is in it strictly for selling (or has a few pieces that were mainly investments and they are from key issues) then I can understand why they would not be posted.  I feel that sought after pieces that the general public have no idea where they ended up would probably have an extra edge during selling.  But that's my opinion.  

[alxjhnsn]

I post all my art because it makes it easy for me to see when I want to see it.

Only a piece or two have any significant prominence so I doubt that my showing it will influence the price my family gets for it when I pass. You can see the collection by clicking the link below.

Alex

 

Edited April 10, 2017 by alxjhnsn

[John E.]

On April 9, 2017 at 7:54 PM, Sriz said:

Ive thought about this for quite some time as well.  Initially I didn't post any of my stuff on CAF but when trying to reach out regarding certain pieces guys had I would get limited responses (with ppl wondering if I had any collection at all).   At the advice of a good friend, I started posting my art on CAF and Ive noticed some ppl are more receptive to my enquiries.  Ive even made some acquaintances as well so that's a plus.   

I guess it all depends on what your goals are.  If you're collecting simply for collecting with general interest, one can post what he has for sharing it with the community.   However if someone is in it strictly for selling (or has a few pieces that were mainly investments and they are from key issues) then I can understand why they would not be posted.  I feel that sought after pieces that the general public have no idea where they ended up would probably have an extra edge during selling.  But that's my opinion.  

There's a very important lesson to be had in your first paragraph. The other week I had someone contact me through CAF asking if I would be willing to sell him one of my pieces. My intuition tells me that I should know a little about the person to whom I'm selling so I went to check out their gallery. The person had no gallery. That didn't sit well with me. I hate to admit it, and I think most people do too or deny it, but if someone has a gallery full of $100 pages or sketches, then that tells me they aren't going to meet my price; whereas if they have a gallery of "expensive" pieces then that tells me they can make make it worth my time. I'm not looking to overcharge anyone, but I'm not looking to be undersold either. I don't mind negotiating, but I don't want to waste my time with a lo-baller either, especially on a piece marked NFS. Needless to say, I turned away the inquiry.

I subscribe to the "fresh to market" idea, even though I acknowledge its limitations, or myth. I think it's good marketing that can generate excitement especially in a hobby starving of new pieces as collectors sift through the same stale pieces over and over. Everything comes down to price, Fresh-to-market or not. Fresh or stale, if it's overpriced, then no one is going to bite. The piece is going to sell itself--if there's pent up demand (like Liefeld NM/XF comes to mind) it's gonna sell at the right market price regardless if it's fresh or been on CAF for 5 years. Even stale pieces will sell at market price on auction or if the price is reduced to the market level.

Personally, I keep certain pieces off CAF that I plan to sell later. These are pieces I acquired because the opportunity was there, the price was right, and I had the money. But I keep them off CAF not necessarily to keep them fresh, although like I stated, I do subscribe to the idea a bit, but because they don't fit into my overall theme in my gallery. That's it really. Like other collectors have stated, people will buy what has been seen or unseen as long as it's available and the price is right.